moaa nov 2015 - moaa florida council of chaptersthe lantern palm beach/martin counties chapter...
TRANSCRIPT
The LanternPalm Beach/Martin Counties Chapter
Military Officers Association of America
November 2015 Issue I’ve had the opportunity to serve on the MOAAA Board for about ten years… And admittedly, every once in a while, I get a little burned out.
Then I go to a MOAA event like the MOAA National Annual Meeting and I get all fired up again. This last weekend, the folks from MOAA National hosted the show in Orlando. With five
hundred or so of my closest friends from all around the US, I got to shake hands with the people who most know only from the pictures in the monthly magazine.
Admiral Ryan, the soon-to-be-retiring president of MOAA, gave a great presentation of what MOAA has accomplished in the last year. And though MOAA did not win every battle, it won a lot.
Do you use Tricare? MOAA had some major wins here as consolidation of all Tricare plans into one and means testing for benefits were blocked through the efforts of MOAA.
Do you receive retired pay? MOAA helped repeal a one percent COLA cut. That does not sound like much… but one percent a year, every year quickly adds up.
Do you care about the benefits of those currently serving? MOAA’s efforts resulted in the saving of the commissary system.
He also bragged about membership. MOAA National broke 390,000 members and has a “big, hairy, audacious, goal” of 400,000 members. Folks don’t realize it but MOAA chapters, such as ours, are really legally separate from MOAA National. MOAA National offers guidance and even suggests how we should operate, but we are really separate. Nonetheless, he bragged on the chapter system. With 411 chapters in 31 councils, he described how the chapter system is growing and evolving. Chapter membership grew by over 2,000 in the last year, despite the fact that many people feel that the chapters are aging. The biggest growth is coming from active duty people. Recognizing a trend, MOAA National also changed their recommended guidance to say that spouses can serve as officers of a chapter. (Our chapter had already done this!) He
also mentioned that some 25,000 MOAA National members agreed to share their email addresses with local chapters.
Admiral Ryan also talked about things like the Scholarship Foundation, which is instrumental in getting MOAA members’ kids to college. He gave several examples of kids of MOAA members continuing their educations solely through the support of MOAA.
Along with Admiral Ryan, General Tony Robertson, the Chairman of the Board, also rang the bell for MOAA commenting that MOAA was selected as one of the top fifty lobbying organizations by The Hill, a respected Congress-following publication. MOAA is the only military organization in the top fifty, with more officers than all of the other military organizations combined. In the tribute video to Admiral Ryan, there were a bunch of pictures of him standing with presidents and congressional leaders. Clearly, when the head of MOAA picks up the phone and asks to speak to our elected leadership, the phone gets answered.
I heard over and over how much they value the chapter and council system. At one point, they recognized chapter members around the country for their contributions. It was great seeing John Morrison’s picture up on the big screen as a member who has spent a long time giving. (John also got the microphone at the chapter recognition dinner. He described his recent challenge and his appreciation for Tricare – a moving moment…)
Admiral Ryan spoke of increasing the membership to 400,000. He’d really like to see that happen. To help make that happen, MOAA National has a pretty neat incentive program. Any chapter that submits its roster to National by January 15 gets a $250 stipend. Pretty neat. To that end, we’re going to try to get everyone to pay their annual dues by the end of December. The dues for 2016 are $35… if we receive them by December 31, you get a $5 discount – in other words, $30 by the end of December, then $35 in January. What… a deal! And, we’ll do the yearly directory in January which will have the calendar of events for the year! Just call me “Mr. Efficiency!”
Please do me a favor and complete the enclosed application with your current information. Most people simply say “my information is the same as last year” but I am amazed as to
Officers:President ………………..COL Paul Loschiavo, USMC “Jill” 561-745-1434 [email protected]
1st Vice President …….Maj Victor Flores, USA 561-623-7159 [email protected]
2nd Vice President ……CWO3 David Herman, USA
561-655-0188 [email protected]
Treasurer ……………….Col Tomas Choate, USMC 561-625-6710 [email protected]
Secretary ………………..MWO George Perry, USA “Marie” 561-734-8499 [email protected]
Immediate Past President ..LTC Marc Oliveri, USAR “Jenine” 561-753-7565 [email protected]
Directors & Chairpersons:Newsletter Editor ….LTC Albert (Skip) Barnes USAF “Carol” 561-512-5744 [email protected]
VA Hospital Liaison….COL Bill Danzeisen, USA “Joan” 561-747-0109 [email protected]
JROTC ……………………….…..COL Paul Loschiavo, USMC “Jill” 561-575-7882 [email protected]
Chaplain ………………….LTC John Catterall, USA “Tillie 561-616-1967 [email protected]
Dinner Coordinator ………..CWO3 David Herman, USA
Membership…………………….Maj Victor Flores, USA
Web Master ……………CAPT Charles Robinson, USN “Alice” 561-207-7163 [email protected]
Personal Affairs ………..…CAPT Sam Hembree, USN “Dee” 561-625-3547 [email protected]
Dinner Greeters & 50/50 …..LTC Ray Elderd, USA “Agnes” 561-351-3318 [email protected]
Publicity …………………….COL Ronald Singer, USAF “Edie” 561-622-0958 [email protected]
Legislative Affairs……..CDR John VanSickle, USN “Roberta” 561-691-8220 [email protected]
Director ………………..COL Morrie Weinman, USAF "Patti" 561-498-4948 [email protected]
Here are a couple great links that will be worth your time to explore. They will take you directly to the MOAA legislative updates via the national MOAA site and to the Florida MOAA Council Newsletters.
Go directly to MOAA and click the interesting legislative links on the left side of the page:http://www.moaa.org
Read our Florida Council Newsletters:http://www.moaafl.org/Communique/Default.aspx
MOAA News
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how many people change their email addresses, or cancel their land-line phones for cell phones only, or outright move on a yearly basis. Our chapter roster is definitely a moving target.
MOAA also had an awards dinner, recognizing various people and organizations who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in supporting active duty people and veterans. About a dozen organizations made it up onto the stage. Our own Lieutenant General Robert Chelberg went up to receive the recognition for the Wounded Warriors of South Florida. I know it is not a competition but… it sure sounded like WWSF raised and distributed more money to veterans than the rest of the organizations combined. Ooooooh rah! General Chelberg!
See y’all at the next event!
Paul
Military Officers Association of AmericaPalm Beach Martin Counties ChapterPO Box 8171, Jupiter FL 33468-8171
Application for membershipOct 2015
Date_____________
Name _____________________________________________________
Highest rank attained ___________________ Date of birth___________
Service USA USN USAF USMC USCG NOAA USPHS
Spouse ______________________________ Date of birth___________
Address ___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
other address _______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
local phone number (_________) ________________________________
Cell number ________________________________________________
email address _______________________________________________
Please put my name on the name tag: ______________________________
Please put my spouse’s name on the name tag:________________________
I found out about this chapter from ______________________________
Make a check payable for $35 ($30 prior to December 31) to “MOAA.”Name tags, if you need one, are $10 each.
MOAA $37pp PO Box 8171 Jupiter, FL 33458 Name:______________________________________________________________
Guest:______________________________________________________________
Nov 19th, 6pm
November Dinner
Menu
Mixed Wild Greens with Candied Pecans, Cranberries, Tomatoes and a Zinfandel Vinaigrette
Sautéed Snapper with a Lemon Caper Butter Or
Wienerschnitzel with Cooked Red Cabbage
Sugar Snap Peas & Glazed Carrots
Spaetzle (Alpine Noodles)
Rolls with Butter
DessertBing Cherry Crepes with Vanilla Ice Cream
Coffee Service
ThisistheannualToys-for-Totsdinner.OurDecemberdinneristoolatetogetatoyintotheprogram. TheMarines ask for new, unwrapped toys. Generally, they get lots of toys fortoddlers.Whattheyalwaysneedaretoysforteenageboysandgirls.Thingslikesoccerballs,basketballs,andfootballsarealwaysindemand.Anythingisgood,butifyouareheadingtoWalmart,pleaseheadtothesporAnggoodsdepartment.
So many great pictures from our September dinner at Abacoa !!
What a great meal at Madison Green
in October !!
Ad Space AvailableSingle Issue: $10
Full Year: $75Call:
COL Paul Loschiavo, USMC, Ret.561-745-1434
Upcoming Events:
Nov:
Officers Call at JJ Muggs, Nov 6th, 5pmDinner at Abacoa, Nov 19th, 6pm
Dec:
Officers Call at Singer Island Hilton, Dec 4th , 5pmDinner at Abacoa, Dec 15th, 6pm
Jan:
Officers Call at PGA National, Jan 8th, 5pmDinner Jan 21st, place TBD